Bar-spacer.



D. W. BROOKS.

BAR SPACER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-3.1918.

1,287,861. Patented Dec. 1?, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID W. BROOKS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CONCRETE STEEL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BAR-SPACER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1'7, 1918.

Application filed January 3, 1918. Serial No. 210,153.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID W. BRooKs, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, (whose post-ofiice address is 42 Broad- Way, New York city, New York,) have invented an Improvement in Bar-Spacers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to articles used in concrete building construction and more particularly to a device for the positioning or spacing the reinforcing bars commonly used therein.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a bar spacer which may be adjusted to the varying requirements of building construction, which will be simple to manufacture and easy to assemble for use.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein selected for purpose of illustration and description; the same being shown" in the accompanying drawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an illustrative device in operative position,

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are detail views. illustrating the attachment and detachment of the illustrative bar retaining member, and

'Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the bar supporting member of Fig. 1.

It is highly desirable in concrete building construction to provide devices for supporting and spacing the reinforcing bars prior to and during the pouring of the concrete. A large number of devices have been developed for this purpose but generally they are not susceptible of use except where they are especially designed for the particular spacing desired. The principal object of this invention as above stated is to provide a bar spacer which can be used under a wide range of requirements as to the spacing of the reinforcing bars.

Referring to the drawings a bar supporting member 10 is shown supporting reinforcing bars 11 which are held in proper position with respect to the support by suitable bar retaining means herein shown as spring clips 13. Thepractice of positioning reinforcing bars with respect to the lower surface of the beam or slab which is to be reinforced, has become standardized to a certain extent but the spacin of reinforcing bars, that is the distance etwecn adjaformed just below the center line of the bar support and a number of holes 16 are punched through the material of the support along the rib 15. These holes may be placed at any appropriate interval which will permit the attachment of the bar retaining members 13 at any desired distance apart. A spacing of a quarter inch has been found preferable in practice.

The lower edge of the bar is provided with means to hold it in an upright position upon the centering, such means being preferably designed for point contact only,'in order that there may be no appearance of metal in the under surface of the finished concrete. A portion 17 of the bar support may be cut away from the remaining material and expanded outwardly and downwardly to form supportin legs. Preferably these legs are staggered one being bent to one side of the bar and one to the other. These expanded portions of the material are preferably twisted slightly from a vertical plane in order to stiffen them. The manner in which these supporting legs are formed from the material of the bar support is best shown in Fig. 8. l Referring to the retaining members, herein shown as spring clips 13, it will be seen from Fig. 1 that these clips comprise a circular run 20, which is bent inwardly at polnts 21, outwardly at points 22 and downwardly at 23 and that the vertical back runs terminate in bent portions 24. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the back run 25 is bellied slightly so that there may be a constant tendency to hold the front run 20 against the back run 25. When attached to the bar support. in a manner which will be presently described. the reinforcing bars 11 may be forced into the space formed be tween substantially parallel runs by crowding the bars down through the opening formed by the adjacent bends 21. The bar will be retained in position by engagement with the shoulders formed by the bends 22. It will of course be understood by those skilled in the art, that firm engagement of the reinforcing bars by the spring clips 1s preferablethough not essential. The circular run 20 is so formed that it will tend to hold the shoulders 22 together.

The clip described may be attached to the bar support at any appropriate point the hooked ends 24: passing through holes 16 in the support.

The manner of its attachment is shown in Figs. 3 and 4:. The hooked ends 2a being laid over the top edge of the bar support, the circular run 20 may be pressed down the op posite face of the support. If then the clip is urged in the direction of the arrow the hooked ends 24 will slide down the rear side of the support until they drop into the groove formed by the stiffening rib. The hooked ends may then be directed to the proper holes whereupon they will snap through and the clip will assume the position shown in Fig. 2. The clip is not easily removable from the support by rotation in a reverse direction because the angle of the hooked ends 24 would be grasped in the holes 16. Nor is the clip easily removable by a continued rotation in the same direction as will presently appear.

.The removal of the clip is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. l\Ioving the clip from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 5 tends to open up the clip or separate the forward run 20 from the back runs 25 and this opening must, be continued to the extent shown in Fig. (3 before the circular run 20 will pass over the top of the bar support. Even then the clip must be brought back substantially to the position of Fig. 7 before the hooked ends 2% can be withdrawn from the holes in the bar support.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the chances of accidental displacement of the clip are very slight and obviously when the reinforcing bars have been placed in position it will be exceedingly diificult if,

not impossible to displace. the bar retaining members.

It will appear to those. skilled in the art, that the illustrative embodiment of the invention maybe variously modified within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim as my invention: v

1. A bar spacer for use in concrete construction, comprising a bar supporting member having engageable means disposed along its length and bar retaining members having cooperating means for engagement with the bar supporting member at a plurality of dill'crcnt points along its length.

2. bar spacer for use in concrete const-ruction. comprising a bar supporting member provided with a plurality of spaced perforations along its length and a bar retaining member having attaching means adapted to be passed through any selected perforations in the bar supporting member, where:

by the bar retaining member may be attached to the bar supporting member at a plurality of points along. its length.

3; A bar spacer for use in concrete construction, comprising a bar supporting member and a resilient bar retaining member having means for resilient engagement with plurality forations along its length, and a resilient wire bar retaining member having down turned hooked ends which are adapted to be passed through selected perforations in the bar supporting member.

5. A bar spacer for use in concrete construction, comprising a bar supporting member provided with a plurality of spaced perforations along its length, and a bar retaining member having a bar encircling run disposed upon one side of the support and support engaging runs passed through said perforations and disposed upon the opposite side, said runs forming an'opening through which a bar may be forced downwardly onto the support.

6. A bar spacer for use in concrete construction, comprising a bar supporting member provided with a plurality of spaced perforations along its length, anda bar retaining member having a bar encircling run disposed upon one side of the support and support endown turned ends adapted to pass through.

selected perforations in the bar support.

7. A bar spacer for use in concrete construction, comprising a vertically disposed sheet metal bar supporting-member having portions of metal along its lower edge expanded outwardly and downwardly from the normal plane to provide bearing points, bar retaining members, and means to attach. said bar retaining members to. the bar supporting member at a plurality of different points along its length.

8. A bar spacer for use in concrete "construction comprising a sheet metal bar supporting member provided with a longitudinal stiffening rib and having a plurality of spaced perforations along said rib, means to maintain said supporting member in a plane substantially at right angles to the centering, and a bar retaining member provided with means to engage said bar supporting member through selected perforations whereby said bar retaining member may be placed in any desired position along for engagement with the bar supporting 10 the bar supporting member. member at a plurality of points along its 9. A bar spacer for use in concrete conlength adapted to be adjustably positioned struction comprising a sheet metal bar supalong said bar supporting member. porting member having engageable means In testimony whereof, I have signed my disposed along its length, means to mainname to this specification this 2nd day of 15 tain said supporting member in a plane sub- January, 1918. st-antially at right angles to the centering,

and bar retaining members having means DAVID W. BROOKS. 

